Opinion No. 15/2015
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1. A/HRC/WGAD/2015 ADVANCE UNEDITED Distr.: General 19 June 2015 VERSION Original: English Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its seventy-second session, 20-29 April 2015 No.15/2015 (Thailand) Communication addressed to the Government on 24 February 2015 Concerning Mr. Yongyuth Boondee The Government has not replied to the communication The State is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 1. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was established in resolution 1991/42 of the former Commission on Human Rights, which extended and clarified the Working Group’s mandate in its resolution 1997/50. The Human Rights Council assumed the mandate in its decision 2006/102 and extended it for a three-year period in its resolution 15/18 of 30 September 2010. The mandate was extended for a further three years in resolution 24/7 of 26 September 2013. In accordance with its methods of work (A/HRC/16/47 and Corr.1, annex), the Working Group transmitted the above-mentioned communication to the Government. 2. The Working Group regards deprivation of liberty as arbitrary in the following cases: (a) When it is clearly impossible to invoke any legal basis justifying the deprivation of liberty (as when a person is kept in detention after the completion of his or her sentence or despite an amnesty law applicable to the detainee) (category I); (b) When the deprivation of liberty results from the exercise of the rights or freedoms guaranteed by articles 7, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, insofar as States parties are concerned, by articles 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (category II); (c) When the total or partial non-observance of the international norms relating to the right to a fair trial, established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the relevant international instruments accepted by the States concerned, is of such gravity as to give the deprivation of liberty an arbitrary character (category III); GE.15- ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION A/HRC/WGAD/2015 (d) When asylum seekers, immigrants or refugees are subjected to prolonged administrative custody without the possibility of administrative or judicial review or remedy (category IV); (e) When the deprivation of liberty constitutes a violation of international law for reasons of discrimination based on birth; national, ethnic or social origin; language; religion; economic condition; political or other opinion; gender; sexual orientation; or disability or other status, and which aims towards or can result in ignoring the equality of human rights (category V). Submissions Communication from the source 3. Mr. Yongyuth Boondee is a Thai citizen, born in 1988. Mr. Boondee works as a construction worker and he is a member of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). 4. The source reports that Mr. Boondee was arrested on 28 July 2014 in front of the 7/11 convenience store near Chiang Mai University. Mr. Boondee was met by around ten military officers when he left the convenience store. They did not inform him which unit they were from. He was then arrested, put into a van and blindfolded. 5. According to the source, the soldiers did not present any warrant for the arrest. Mr. Boondee reportedly appeared in an order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on 10 June 2014. The order stated that he had to report to the Army Club on Thewet Road in Bangkok on 11 June 2014. However, he did not report to the NCPO due to fear of his safety. Subsequently, an arrest warrant had reportedly been issued against him by the Nonthaburi Province Central Court on 18 July 2014 related to his alleged involvement in several armed incidents in Bangkok and Nonthaburi Province. 6. Following his arrest on 28 July 2014, Mr. Boondee was transferred from Chiang Mai to Bangkok later in the evening, where he arrived at around 6.00am on 29 July. From 29 July to 10 August, he was reportedly held in a military camp in Bangkok. He did not know in which military camp he was held. He was then detained for one night on 10 August 2014 at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) and was subsequently detained at Nonthaburi Province Central Prison from 11 August 2014 onwards. 7. The source considers that the detention of Mr. Boondee from 28 July to 11 August 2014 (15 days) was at the order of the NCPO whereas the order for his detention from 11 August onwards was issued by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court. 8. According to the source, on 10 August 2014, the Provincial Police Region 1 held a press conference at the office of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), alleging that Mr. Boondee was directly involved in the firing of a M-79 grenade into the Shinnawatra Building 3 in Bangkok. The source reports that Mr. Boondee was present at the press conference. General Pumpanmuang, the then Deputy Chief of RTP, reportedly stated that the incident occurred on 7 March 2014 and that Mr. Boondee together with other accomplices fired a M-79 grenade into the building and fled. General Pumpanmuang further alleged that during the interrogation of Mr. Boondee on 1 August 2014, he had confessed that he was behind the shooting of the M-79 grenade. 9. During the press conference, General Pumpanmuang also alleged that Mr. Boondee knew about other armed attacks during the demonstration by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC). In this respect, the General cited four incidents which all took place between March and May 2014. 10. According to the source, Mr. Boondee has denied all these allegations. 2 ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION A/HRC/WGAD/2015 11. From 28 July to 11 August 2014, Mr. Boondee was reportedly detained under section 15 of the 1914 Martial Law which allows for detention without charge for seven days. Section 15 states that “[i]f there is a reasonable ground to suspect that any person is the enemy or violates the provisions of this Act or the order of the military authorities, the military shall have the power to detain such person for inquiry or for other necessities of the military. Such detention shall be no longer than seven days.” 12. On 8 August 2014, local human rights NGOs met with General Sriwara Rangsipromkul, the Chief of the Provincial Police Region 1, to ask about the whereabouts of Mr. Boondee, given that the seven days limit for detention under the Martial Law had expired on 4 August 2014. The General reportedly told them that Mr. Boondee had made a personal request to stay in custody beyond the seven days. The General did not respond to the request by the NGOs for proof of Mr. Boondee’s voluntary request to stay in custody or his whereabouts. 13. On 10 August 2014, the police led by General Somyot Pumpanmuang brought Mr. Boondee to a public reconstruction at the alleged crime scenes. The source claims the police decided to bring him out to the public due to the pressure from human rights group asking the authorities to reveal his whereabouts. 14. Mr. Boondee reportedly met with a lawyer on 18 August for the first time. He also met with his mother on that day. 15. From 11 August 2014 onwards, Mr. Boondee was detained under the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows for 12 days detention. The Criminal Procedure Code allows for detention for seven consecutive requests (maximum of 84 days). The source reports that the police requested for the extension of his detention seven times (12 days each time). However, the police could not find sufficient evidence to bring the case forward to the public prosecutor. Consequently, Mr. Boondee was released at the Nonthaburi Provincial Court on or around 3 November 2014. 16. On the same day of his release, he was reportedly re-arrested by police from the Minburi police station on the allegation that he had been involved in two violent incidents in Minburi district of Bangkok. Since then, he has been detained at the Minburi prison. As of 12 December 2014, the Bangkok Criminal Court in Minburi has approved the police request to extend his detention for several consecutive times. However, so far, no charge has been filed against him by the prosecutor. The police officials are reportedly still investigating for more evidence. 17. The source reports that police officers from Rayong province (east of Bangkok) came to meet with Mr. Boondee in Minburi prison between 7 and 8 December 2014 and informed him of the allegation that he has been involved in another violent attack in Rayong province in early 2014. The source is thus concerned that Mr. Boondee might eventually be released by the Minburi Provincial Court due to lack of sufficient evidence, but would then be re-arrested by the police from Rayong province, raising serious concerns regarding the basis and legality of his arrest and detention. 18. The source submits that the detention of Mr. Boondee falls under categories I and III under the Working Group’s mandate. 19. From 28 July to 11 August 2014 (15 days), Mr. Boondee was held in an unknown location without the knowledge of his family members and friends. On 10 to 11 August, he was detained at the CSD. Under the Martial Law, the military is authorized to detain anybody for a limited period of up to seven days. Consequently, the detention of Mr.